PKI Blog

A leader in the educational software market was developing a custom MDM solution enabling a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative for the classroom when their developers realized their need for an underlying security and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Purchasing individual certificates was out of the question, since their solution required very high certificate volume, and they were reluctant to roll out their own PKI, as reliability and high assurance were key requirements to meet their growing customer base. The customer engaged CSS after realizing that operating a full scale PKI was simply out of their wheelhouse.

Recently I was engaged with a customer who decided to source certificates from a service provider rather than build a PKI. In this case the customer was limited in resources and an evaluation of build vs. buy showed this to be the correct approach in the near term.

The Certificate Management System (CMS), formerly known as the Certificate Reporting Tool (CRT), as referenced below, provides reporting and notification capabilities to an existing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). The reports and notifications are highly customizable for content, timing, and audience. In addition, custom ‘event plugin handlers’ can be created and registered to perform any desired functionality when predefined events occur. Two types of CRT events are exposed:

It’s been in the works for quite some time, but we are finally able to publicly announce a problem that we’ve encountered, related to the use of the Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol, or SCEP, in conjunction with mobile devices. We’ve been working for months behind the scenes with the folks at the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) and CERT/CC at Carnegie Mellon our customers, and a number of vendors as well, to help raise awareness of the issue. The CERT report can be found here, and we have a whitepaper and video overview on our website to provide more information.

It should be noted that not all MDM usage of SCEP is equally vulnerable. The scenarios that cause the most concern to us are those that involve the use of SCEP to issue authentication certificates to enterprise systems such as ActiveSync, WiFi, and VPN. In some cases it may be possible to use alternative configurations that reduce or eliminate these risks; in others, it may be more difficult. CSS is willing to help customers assess their specific usage of SCEP and PKI to determine their degree of exposure.

Certified Security Solutions sent a team to the 2012 RSA Security Conference in San Francisco where one of the underlying themes was mobile security. Located in the Microsoft Pavilion, team CSS boasted a 'Got PKI?' theme centered around PKI best practices and the power of digital certificates on mobile devices. Booth conversations included PKI as a service in addition to leveraging CSS' own software solution, the Certificate Management System (CMS) for digital certificate management and enrollment in a Microsoft PKI. Visitors to the booth were genuinely excited to see a mobile security solution from a company that "gets" PKI. CSS' CTO, Ted Shorter, and Director of Business Development, Uri Lichtenfeld, presented a theater session titled 'Do's and Don’ts of PKI and Certificate Management for Mobile Devices.' Check out the photos below:

The popularity of Apple’s iPads and iPhones among consumers are well documented, but recent findings from Forrester Research shows that these devices are gaining steam in the corporate world.

The “Consumerization of IT” or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has become a common occurrence among all departments, and not surprisingly, Apple is leading the way among what Forrester calls “information” workers — workers that use a computer for work an hour or more per day. And the more senior the individual, the more they are using Apple devices:

More than 1 out of 5 (21%) of 10,000 surveyed Information workers use one or more Apple device at work

The number of Apple BYOD-ers doubles to 2 out of 5 professionals (41%) for those with the title “Director of IT” or higher

This week we’ve seen the latest chapter in the Microsoft/Apple love/hate relationship… and it would seem that love is conquering all… at least for the time being. As CRN reports, Apple is reaching out to Microsoft partners that can help integrate iPhones and iPads into enterprise environments.

We’re seeing a bit of a perfect storm for Apple and Microsoft to work together – at least in the mobile space – as more and more organizations are taking a look at moving to or allowing iPhones (and iPads). Combining the robust multi-faceted Microsoft Core Infrastructure platform and Apple’s trendy “must-have” market monopolizing devices, Apple and Microsoft are “on again,” albeit in the relatively limited smartphone and tablet arena.

In my previous blog, I talked about the necessity of a Time Stamping Authority (TSA) in regards to non-repudiation. In this blog we are going to have a closer look at time itself, talk about why accurate time is important, and how to achieve accurate time in your own organization.

iOS 5, Apple’s new operating system for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, will be released “soon” – Apple officially says “this Fall,” and many prognosticators are pointing to sometime in October. While the new release has hundreds of new features, the feature that’s of particular interest to digital identity practitioners such as CSS is one that’s received very little press to date:

It is safe to say that everything has gone digital. In an age where people are farming virtual farms and tending to online fish tanks, why wouldn't the need for a "virtual signature" become apparent? When it comes to replacing your "John Hancock" with a time stamp, the risk of a security compromise becomes heightened. Luckily, there are protective security measures that can easily minimize risk.